The novel films are particularly suitable for outdoor applications, e.g. for greenhouses or roofing systems. The films also have very good suitability for the covering of, and therefore for the protection of, metallic surfaces, onto which the films can be hot-sealed. In outdoor applications, films which comprise no UV-absorbing materials yellow, even after a short period, and their mechanical properties become impaired as a result of photooxidative degradation by sunlight.
Sealable, biaxially oriented polyester films are known in the prior art. Likewise known are sealable, biaxially oriented polyester films which have one or more UV absorbers. These films known from the prior art either have good sealing performance, good optical properties or acceptable processing performance.
GB-A 1 465 973 describes a coextruded polyester film having two layers, one layer of which consists of copolyesters containing isophthalic acid and terephthalic acid, and the other layer of which consists of polyethylene terephthalate. The patent gives no useful indication of the sealing performance of the film. The lack of pigmentation means that the film cannot be produced by a reliable process (cannot be wound up) and that the possibilities for further processing of the film are limited.
EP-A 0 035 835 describes a coextruded, sealable polyester film where, in the sealable layer, particles whose average size exceeds the sealable layer thickness are present in order to improve winding and processing performance. The particulate additives form surface protrusions which prevent undesired blocking and sticking of the film to rolls or guides. No further details are given concerning the incorporation of antiblocking agents in relation to the other, nonsealable layer of the film. It is uncertain whether this layer comprises antiblocking agents. The choice of particles having diameters greater than the sealable layer thickness, at the concentrations given in the Examples, impairs the sealing performance of the film. The patent does not give any indication of the sealing temperature range of the film. The seal seam strength is measured at 140° C. and is in the range from 63 to 120 N/m (from 0.97 N/15 mm to 1.8 N/15 mm of film width).
EP-A 0 432 886 describes a coextruded multilayer polyester film which has a first surface on which has been arranged a sealable layer, and has a second surface on which has been arranged an acrylate layer. The sealable outer layer here may also be composed of isophthalic-acid-containing and terephthalic-acid-containing copolyesters. The coating on the reverse side gives the film improved processing performance. The patent gives no indication of the sealing temperature range of the film. The seal seam strength is measured at 140° C. For a sealable layer thickness of 11 μm the seal seam strength given is 761.5 N/m (11.4 N/15 mm). A disadvantage of the reverse-side acrylate coating is that this side is now not sealable with respect to the sealable outer layer, and the film therefore has only very restricted use.
EP-A 0 515 096 describes a coextruded, multilayer film, sealable polyester film which comprises a further additive in the sealable layer. The additive may comprise inorganic particles, for example, and is preferably distributed in an aqueous layer onto the film during its production. Using this method, the film is claimed to retain its good sealing properties and to be easy to process. The reverse side comprises only very few particles, most of which pass into this layer via the recycled material. This patent again gives no indication of the sealing temperature range of the film. The seal seam strength is measured at 140° C. and is above 200 N/m (3 N/15 mm). For a sealable layer of 3 μm thickness the seal seam strength given is 275 N/m (4.125 N/15 mm).
WO 98/06575 describes a coextruded, multilayer polyester film which comprises a sealable outer layer and a nonsealable base layer. The base layer here may have been built up from one or more layers, and the inner layer of these layers is in contact with the sealable layer. The other (outward-facing) layer then forms the second nonsealable outer layer. Here, too, the sealable outer layer may be composed of isophthalic-acid-containing and terephthalic-acid-containing copolyesters, but these comprise no antiblocking particles. The film also comprises at least one UV absorber, which is added to the base layer in a weight ratio of from 0.1 to 10%. Preferred UV absorbers used here are triazines, e.g. â Tinuvin 1577 from Ciba. The base layer has conventional antiblocking agents. The film has good sealability, but does not have the desired processing performance and also has unsatisfactory optical properties, such as gloss and haze.